Tucson Community Supported Agriculture Newsletter 659 ~ November 12, 2018 ~ Online at www.TucsonCSA.org

Fall 2018 Praise the Lard Harvest lists are online. Written by Shelby Thompson Back Page Recipes As you might know from your experience buying a pork share, we purchase pasture-raised- • Basic Lard-Butter Crust and-finished hogs from Josh at Chiricahua Pasture Raised Meats several times each year. • Cilantro Dip Along with the sausage, ribs, roasts, and ground • Peanut Butternut Soup meat that make it into the shares, we also receive • Pumpkin Hand Pies part of the hogs that CSA members don’t often see: • Autumn Panzanella lard. Lard is fat that comes from the animal’s back Find many more recipes on and around its abdomen and kidneys and, once our website. rendered, it can be used to make flaky pie crusts, melt-in-your-mouth tortillas, and slew of other sweet Turkey Thawing and savory dishes.

If you took home one of In the 1890s, lard became the target of a Crisco marketing campaign, one which spent Josh’s turkeys, store it in inordinate amounts of money labeling butter and lard as fundamentally bad and unhealthy. your freezer. Then figure out The marketing campaign was hugely successful, and soon many home cooks replaced how far in advance to start lard—which has been used by cooks and bakers for centuries—with highly processed thawing it using this vegetable oil (extracted from cottonseed, not vegetables). Despite what the slanderous formula. jargon used in these campaigns said, lard is minimally processed fat with a variety of health benefits. “Nutritionally speaking, lard has nearly one-fourth the saturated fat and more than Refrigerator Thawing twice the monounsaturated fat as butter. It is also low in omega-6 fatty acids, known to Allow approximately 24 promote inflammation; according to lard enthusiasts, free-range pigs that eat greens, not hours for each 4 to 5 pounds in a refrigerator set at 40 °F grains, have higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids,” says Tucson’s own Dr. Andrew Weil, or below. Place the turkey in adding that, “The best lard is considered to be minimally processed “leaf lard” from the area a container to prevent the around the pig’s abdomen and kidneys or fatback lard from the pig’s back.” juices from dripping on other foods. It would take 4 Although rendered lard is a cook’s dream, it doesn’t do much for anyone in the solid, un- days to thaw a 16-lb turkey. rendered state in which we receive it at Tucson CSA. Thus on Monday, I set out early with A thawed turkey can remain Philippe, Sara, and Lori (appropriately dressed in a shirt that read “Praise the Lard”) to in the refrigerator for a render over 60 pounds of the stuff. We began by cutting frozen hunks of lard into smaller couple days or so before pieces that could fit into an industrial meat grinder. Grinding the lard isn’t necessary, but it cooking. allowed us to render it more quickly and efficiently than if we had just cut it into tiny pieces. Once all of the lard was ground, we gathered our equipment - three crockpots; two Cold Water Thawing stock pots; and a few ladles - and got to work. Allow about 30 minutes per pound. First be sure the turkey is in a leak-proof Between the heating, the stirring, the skimming, the jarring, and–eventually–the washing up, plastic bag to prevent cross- we ate. Lori gave us a taste of what the rendered lard could become. First, individual pot contamination and to pies, filled with tender white beans, okra, peppers, and a few odds and ends from last prevent the turkey from week’s CSA share, topped with a blanket of tender lard-butter crust (see back page for the absorbing water, resulting in recipe). The light, flaky crust paired perfectly with the smoked paprika-flavored stew that a watery product. bubbled up beneath it. Later, we took a break to enjoy a few slices of Lazy Mary’s Lemon Tart, made with the same lard-butter crust that we had on the pot pies. The sweet-yet-tart Submerge the wrapped filling served as a great contrast to the rich pastry beneath it. We left that night with satisfied turkey in cold tap water. appetites and several cases of rendered pork lard, which will be sold at Tucson CSA. Change the water every 30 minutes or so until the turkey is thawed. It would You can now find buy rendered lard for all of your holiday baking and cooking needs at take 8 hours to thaw a 16- $10/pint. For those of you who want to give lard rendering a go in your own kitchen, you pound turkey. Cook can buy ground, un-rendered lard at $3/lb. You’ll find great lard rendering guides on immediately after thawing. theprairiehomestead.com, daringgourmet.com, and myhumblekitchen.com. BACK PAGE

Basic Lard-Butter Pastry Crust Cook until fragrant. Add squash and greens and cover with Lori Adkison, Tucson CSA water or broth. Bring to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes until squash is tender and falling apart. Remove one cup of 2 ½ cups flour soup from pot and blend together with peanut butter. Return ½ cup butter, cold mixture to pot and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. ½ cup lard If you want a creamy soup, blend in batches to desired Pinch of salt consistency. Otherwise, smash squash with a potato ¼ - ½ cup ice water masher or wooden spoon to thicken broth. Garnish with roasted peanuts, if desired. Mix the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Use a pastry blender or fork to cut the butter and lard into the flour. Sprinkle the water Pumpkin Hand Pies over the mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, just until the dough comes Sara Jones, Tucson CSA together. Refrigerate for at least an hour before using. 2 ½ cups pumpkin or winter squash puree Cilantro Dip 2 teaspoons cinnamon Nora McGinnis, Tucson CSA 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 cup ground pecans This is a great way to use up a lot of cilantro at once and make use ¼ cup brown sugar of cilantro stems. The stems actually contain much more flavor 1 package puff pastry or pie dough than the leaves and add a huge punch to recipes where their texture won’t interfere. Mix together first 5 ingredients. Fill pastry according to directions on package. I use frozen, individual square pastry 2/3 cup toasted slivered almonds (whole and/or raw almonds also dough, which, once filled, folds into a nice triangle. You could work just fine, as does almond meal or flour) cut rounds from a pie dough, too. Bake according to directions 1 garlic clove on package. Best served warm, with yogurt or ice cream. 1 and 1/2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno (with or without seeds to your taste) Autumn Panzanella 1 packed cup cilantro, stems and all Sara Jones, Tucson CSA 2-3 tablespoons lime juice 3 tablespoons sour cream Traditionally made with juicy summer tomatoes, panzanella is 1/4 cup mayonnaise also a great way to use fall veggies and one of the most 1 teaspoon salt delicious ways to use stale bread!

Toss everything in a food processor and pulse until smooth, 3 medium tomatillos, husks removed and cleaned scraping down sides as needed. Serve as a dip with crackers, About 2 cups winter squash, peeled and chopped into bite size tortilla chips, or veggies, or use as a spicy pesto on pasta. (If using pieces whole almonds, it can speed up the process to pulse them first on 1 large or 2-3 small onions, diced their own until roughly chopped, and then add the other 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced ingredients). 3 slices stale bread, cut into cubes 1 teaspoon paprika Peanut Butternut Soup 1 teaspoon ground oregano Sara Jones, Tucson CSA 1 teaspoon thyme 2 tablespoon olive oil This is a delicious, if somewhat unusual, soup. You can use any 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice winter squash here, the name just won’t be as catchy! Salt and pepper to taste

About 3 cups of peeled winter squash or pumpkin, cut into large Toss winter squash and whole tomatillos with one tablespoon chunks oil and lay out on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 bell pepper, diced about 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove from 1/2 onion, diced oven once squash is tender. Set tomatillos aside to cool in a 1-2 cups chopped greens bowl to collect any juices. Heat the remaining one tablespoon 1 inch ginger, grated of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bread 1 tablespoon curry powder cubes to skillet and stir to coat with oil. Sprinkle bread with Enough water or vegetable broth to cover all ingredients herbs and spices, and cook, stirring occasionally until crispy 1 tablespoon oil and beginning to brown. While bread is cooking roughly chop 1/2 cup natural chunky peanut butter (not the kind with sugar) tomatillos and add to a bowl with the cooked squash, adding Salt and pepper to taste any juice from the tomatillos. Toss hot bread directly into vegetable mix and toss to combine. Drizzle with a bit of Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. balsamic vinegar and touch more olive oil if desired. Taste for Stir in onion, ginger, bell pepper and curry. salt. Serve at room temperature.